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Scope on Safety: Space—The final frontier!

Science Scope—May 2003

These are the voyages of laboratory science safety! The issue of science laboratory space and class size has been on a long safety trek. For example, the National Science Education Standards and subsequent science frameworks at the state level have emphasized the need to do science, not just read about it (NRC 1996). As a result, teachers have been engaging in more laboratory activities with their students. This action, coupled with increasing enrollments and outdated facilities, is once again putting science laboratory space on the radar screen. The bottom line is middle school science teachers must address class size or “occupancy load” in efforts to establish and maintain a safe working and learning environment in the laboratory.
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